Guess who bought a new Chevy Cobalt, one of the GM cars whose defective ignition switch has led to the company's latest massive recall and internal housecleaning?

Vince Megna's paralegal. And yes, that means the lemon law lawyer is suing GM, but not under the lemon law, or as part of the growing number of class actions.

"We don't want to be part of a class action. Usually consumers get very little and it ends up being all about attorneys' fees," Megna said.

Last week, just as GM was revealing a brutal internal report on how the company botched its handling of the faulty switches, Megna sued in Milwaukee County Circuit Court on behalf of Erin Kandziora. The suit names GM and Heiser Chevrolet, the dealer where she bought her Cobalt new in April 2010.

The suit brings claims of fraudulent concealment and misrepresentation under Wisconsin consumer laws and a federal warranty claim.

"She would have never bought this car if she'd known" about the problem, Megna said. "You shouldn't have to be in an accident or die to get your money back from someone who defrauds you."

Kandziora's suit contends GM knew about the problems since at least 2005 and "intentionally, purposefully, fraudulently and systematically" concealed them from consumers like her and from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

As the lawsuit claims, and GM's own reports have shown, company officials decided it would be too costly to fix the problem, which can cause the affected cars to lose power during operation. More than 50 crashes have been linked to 13 deaths, iincluding a Wisconsin teen.

Not only did GM not reveal or fix the problem, it continued to tout the safety of the Cobalt. The lawsuit quotes the owner's manual that come with Kandziora's car: "You'll see we've thought about safety so you don't have to."

The suit also seeks punitive damages, and refund or damages under the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, and to rescind Kandziora's sales contract. Heiser is named only in the sales contract rescission claim. So far, Megna said, the dealer has declined to buy back the car, for which Kandziora paid about $19,000, minus a $4,000 rebate.

Megna said Kandziora took her key fob off her key as soon as GM said it would help prevent accidental shut offs, and that she has continued driving her Cobalt without incident.

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